FIRST, IT WAS SULPHITES. NOW, IT’S MILK AND EGGS. TOMORROW, WHO KNOWS… THE EUROPEAN UNION HAS BEGUN A BARRAGE OF OBLIGATORY INITIAITVES ON WINE BOTTLE LABELS. ARE THEY A TEST FOR A LEGISLATION THAT WILL BE THE SAME AS THAT FOR FOOD?

First, it was sulphites in 2004, now, it’s milk and eggs whose presence must be indicated on wine and alcohol bottle labels. This law recently went into effect under the European Commission according to WineNews, one of the most important web sites of the Italian wine world.
And, tomorrow, what other novelties will arrive from Brussels?

Though total transparency is important for labels, it may also be important to put a brake on this continuous modification of what is obligatory for wine labels, which forces producers, for one, to continuously make new labels. And it seems that all this may make wine end up with all of the same label requirements that foods currently have as requirements. A hypothesis that many winemakers would be contrary to, while others believe this may be the right way to make wine “natural” again.

This is what Professor Attilio Scienza from the University of Milan (and one of the top Italian experts in the field) thinks. In an interview with www.winenews.tv, Scienza noted: “It could be helpful for a return to purity, because wine can be made without a lot of additives. Today, enological technology progresses by proposing substances and various actions - antioxidants, stabilizers, etc. - but if the primary material is good and if the right maturation and fermentation periods are respected, then there is a lot less need for additives. This is why, I think, the market will be divided in two in the future: on the one hand, wines with very little or no added substances, and on the other, those that are less expensive but with more additives”.

Professor Leonardo Valenti, also from the University of Milan, is less optimistic about the issue. Valenti believes that this legislation, “has been created because of a lack of conscientiousness in the sector. Wine has existed for thousands of years, it is produced in a natural way and undergoes many controls; our legislation, however, is one of the most complete and binding for producers. The obligation of indicating all components on labels do nothing more than put the wine world in difficulty”.

The new warnings that will be appearing, written in small characters and probably located in a difficult corner of the label to read, are for those who have allergies, and are for those wines that undergo clarification with albumin and lysozyme (egg proteins) or casein (milk protein). Experts retain that these substances lose their capacity to provoke allergies during the wine production process, but after further verifications by EFSA (European Food Safety Authorities) it has been decided to follow the principles of prudence and to note their presence on labels.